Market may slip on weak global cues, profit taking

The market may witness profit taking on weak global cues and after strong recent surge in stock prices on the back of sustained buying by foreign funds and hopes of interest rate cut.

The stock markets displayed a distinctly strong trend during the week ended 27 March 2009 as the benchmarks jumped over 10%, on a host of positive global factors. A steep fall in the India's inflation also raised expectations of a further easing of the monetary policy by the Reserve Bank of India. Inflation based on the wholesale prices rose 0.27% in the 12 months to 14 March 2009, a record low. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,081.81 points or 12.06% to 10,048.49, in the week ended Friday, 27 March 2009. The BSE Sensex jumped 1888.09 points or 23.13% in twelve trading sessions to 10,048.49 on 27 March 2009 from a three-year closing low of 8,160.40 on 9 March 2009.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 2,494.70 crore in nine trading sessions from 13 March 2009 to 25 March 2009. As per the provisional figures on NSE, the foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 80.43 crore while domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 42.98 crore on Friday, 27 March 2009 when the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 28.35 points, or 0.28%, to 10,031.45, its highest closing since 6 January 2009.

Asian markets which opened before Indian markets were trading weak today 30 March 2009. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were down by between 1.16% to 1.69. China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.08%.

Japan's Nikkei average slipped 1.76% on Monday, as investors locked in profits after last week's sharp rally, with bank shares such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group falling following a drop in their US counterparts late last week.

US stocks ended a relatively good week on a negative note on Friday 27 March 2009 as investors locked in profits and banking shares took a hit. The Dow plunged 148.38 points, or 1.9%, to 7,776.18. The S&P 500 index declined 16.92 points, or 2%, to 815.94 and the Nasdaq composite index slipped 41.80 points, or 2.6%, to 1,545.20.

In economic front, US personal spending rose for a second straight month climbing 0.2% in February 2009 after January's revised 1-% increase, while income slipped 0.2%. And consumer sentiment improved more than expected in March 2009.